U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/009,391, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,509, incorporated herein by reference, describes a process for forming a plurality of substantially transparent electrodes on a substrate. This process comprises forming on the substrate, in order, a bottom high index layer, a metallic conductive layer, and a top high index layer having a conductivity of at least about 400 Ω/square. The top high index layer, the conductive layer and, optionally, the bottom high index layer, are patterned by laser ablation to form a plurality of discrete electrodes in the metallic conductive layer. The laser beam is scanned in a raster pattern over the substrate and modulated under the control of digital signals from a raster image processor. After the laser ablation procedure is completed, the electrode assembly is contaminated with surface residue and re-deposited debris. The surface of the assembly is then washed with an aqueous solution containing a surfactant and optionally gently abraded to remove the residue and debris.